The present invention relates to dumbbell weights and in particular to an orbital dumbbell weight having weight offset from a centered handle.
Exercising with weights has become recognized as generally benefitting all ages of humans regardless of any desire for bodybuilding. Such weight training has been shown to improve muscle and bone density providing health benefits such as reducing osteoporosis with age. Unfortunately, is it often difficult to visit a gym regularly and significant space is required to set up an exercise room at home. Therefore, a need exists for compact exercise equipment that can be used at home.
One form of compact equipment is the dumbbell. Because the dumbbell is used with a single arm, significant weight is not required to obtain a benefit. However, the effect of common dumbbells is limited by the weight of the dumbbell. Kinetic dumbbells have been developed having rotating weighted ends with offset weights. When motion is used to cause the weighted ends to rotate, the rotating weight excises the user's muscles more than merely lifting the dumbbell.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,833 for “Specialty Weight Training Apparatus and Method” discloses such a kinetic dumbbell. While the '833 dumbbell provides the benefits of rotating offset weights, the design of '833 dumbbell includes threading the weighted ends (circular wheel-weights 30) onto an axle 20. Such threaded attachment makes it difficult to align the weighted ends.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,482,835 for “Barbell With Eccentrically Weighted Weights” discloses a kinetic dumbbell with a radially extending screw 5 bearing against a shaft 6 to allow aligning the weighted ends. Such use of a screw 5 is prone to slipping allowing the weighted end to become miss-aligned and requiring correction. Thus a need is present for a kinetic dumbbell which effectively retains the weighted ends in alignment.